Man accused of fatally stomping son takes DNA test

GALVESTON — A man accused of stomping his infant son to death gave a DNA sample to prosecutors Friday, his attorney said.

Travis "T.J." Mullis, 21, of Alvin was handed a piece of cotton that he used to swab the inside of his mouth. He dropped the cotton in a paper container that was sealed for delivery to a laboratory, said Mullis's attorney, Robert Loper.

The DNA will be compared with evidence taken from Mullis, his car and from the Galveston roadside where the body of 3-month-old Alijah Mullis was found Jan. 29, according to the hearing request filed by Galveston District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk.

Sistrunk, who has not decided whether to seek the death penalty, said his request was routine and that there was no need for a hearing.

Mullis, who is charged with capital murder in the death of a child younger than 6, gave the DNA willingly, Loper said. He said prosecutors will probably seek an indictment next week.

Alijah's body was discovered alongside a Galveston roadway in an undeveloped area. Mullis walked into a Philadelphia police station four days later and gave a statement saying he stomped on Alijah's head until he felt the skull give way because it was the only way to stop him from crying.

He waived extradition and was returned to Galveston, where he remains in jail under $1 million bail.

Meanwhile, Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne said her office will begin the process next week to extradite Alijah's mother, Caren Kohberger, 27, from New York.

Kohberger, who lived in an Alvin trailer with Mullis, is charged with child endangerment for handing the child to Mullis about 4:30 on the morning he died even though she knew Mullis was acting strangely and had said he might hurt a child.

She was arrested Tuesday as she checked out of a New York City hospital and is being held on $60,000 bail in the prison wing of another New York hospital.

Yenne said her office will file documents with Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office to ask New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to send Kohberger to Texas.